Canberra - Saba:
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Thursday that he discussed the situation in Gaza with his British counterpart, Keir Starmer, and affirmed his government's strong support for the two-state solution.
In a statement, Albanese said that he and Starmer agreed to leverage international momentum to achieve a ceasefire and accelerate the delivery of aid to the Gaza Strip.
For his part, Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers said on Thursday that "the government will push for a two-state solution... but I don't want to set a timeframe for that."
France, Britain, Malta, and Canada have all announced successively that they will recognize the state of Palestine at the UN General Assembly next September.
On Wednesday, France, Australia, Canada, Finland, New Zealand, Portugal, Andorra, Malta, San Marino, Luxembourg, Iceland, Ireland, Spain, Slovenia, and Norway issued a collective call to recognize the State of Palestine and called on more countries to join this effort.
In a joint statement, the 15 countries called for "an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, and unhindered access to humanitarian aid."
They added, "We have already recognized, or expressed, or are expressing our countries' willingness or positive outlook to recognize the State of Palestine as an essential step toward a two-state solution, and we call on all states that have not yet done so to join this call."
They continued, "We reaffirm our unwavering commitment to the vision of a two-state solution, where two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace within secure and recognized borders, in accordance with international law and relevant UN resolutions."
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